Congressman battles doctor in 17th District

17{+t}{+h} District voters: find out where Congressman Matt Cartwright and Dr. David Moylan stand on the issue

In the 17th congressional district, which slices through historically Democratic areas that include parts of the Lehigh Valley, Democratic Congressman Matt Cartwright is facing a challenge from a conservative-leaning doctor operating on a shoestring campaign budget.

Calling certain environmental regulations and Obamacare "job killers," Dr. David "Doc" Moylan said he would bring his skills as a 62-year-old radiation oncologist and Schuylkill County coroner to diagnose the nation's ailments and develop a treatment plan.

Cartwright, a 53-year-old attorney from Lackawanna County, spent his first term making a case for President Barack Obama's health care reform and is a champion of green energy policies while trying to define himself as a consensus-maker in a House ruled by Republicans.

"This is one of those races where you don't have to look for a lot of nuances between the policy positions of the two candidates," said Chris Borick, a political scientist at Muhlenberg College. "They're stark contrasts."

The race is a relatively low-key one in a recently redrawn district where, two years ago, Cartwright toppled long-time Congressman Tim Holden in the primary and handily beat his first Republican opponent.

While still a fresh face in the district, Cartwright has shaken a lot of hands as he delivered some of the $107 million in federal grants his district was awarded during his freshman term, and he represents a constituency that skews Democratic. He also has money.

As of Oct. 15, Cartwright had $608,091 going into the final three weeks of the race and Moylan had $2,199, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Campaigning as a "Cure for Congress," Moylan has tried to identify Cartwright as too liberal and tie him to Obama. Seeking a district that includes the heart of the Anthracite Region, Moylan has accused Obama and his Democratic supporters of a "war on coal" with their environmental policies and once called the Internal Revenue Service "Obama's brownshirts" for targeting conservative groups.

"You voted with President Obama 96 percent of the time, more than Nancy Pelosi," Moylan charged at the first of two scheduled debates with Cartwright, one co-hosted by PBS39 and The Morning Call.

Meanwhile, Cartwright is casting himself as a moderate Democrat who has worked with the House majority to get things passed as a freshman in Congress' minority party. Of 51 bills he has introduced, Cartwright pointed out 27 have bipartisan support, making him No. 1 of the 200 Democrats in introducing bipartisan bills. One of those bills, which would set up a clearinghouse for clean-energy grants to help schools, passed the House.

"I don't reach; I walk across the aisle, and I work the floor," Cartwright said.

Cartwright's and Moylan's stances on most issues fall along party lines.

So long as it wouldn't affect people already 55 and older, Moylan would consider means testing and gradually raising the age at which people can collect Medicare benefits. He would also consider subjecting more income (above $117,000) to Social Security taxes by raising a cap, as well upping the age to start collecting Social Security benefits.

Cartwright would not touch Medicare and Social Security. Carefully distancing himself from the president, Cartwright pointed out he opposed Obama's 2013 budget proposal to reduce Social Security spending by using a new calculation for inflation. The changes ultimately did not make the final budget.

Cartwright suggested that the Medicare and Social Security funds could be strengthened by increasing the number of working people paying into the funds. That could be accomplished by creating a "tough but fair" path to citizenship for some of the 11 million undocumented workers in the country.

But Moylan railed against rewarding people for breaking the law. Extolling an American Legion plan, Moylan said the first priority should be securing the border not only in the south but at "every port of entry." Amnesty programs have been tested, to some extent, since President Ronald Reagan and are not effective, Moylan said.

He argued that government had to stop giving undocumented workers a reason to illegally cross the border: cheap jobs. He suggested making it a felony for companies that repeatedly hire them.

A better way to fatten those entitlement funds, Moylan said, is to build an attractive business climate for companies to expand and hire more workers. He would create an American Made tax credit, lower the capital gains tax and steer away from environmental proposals, like carbon emissions limits, that he says would hamstring businesses.

Moylan questioned the benefits of such programs because he doesn't believe the science proves the current warming trend is permanent or man-made.

As far as capital gains tax, Cartwright said it should be increased, agreeing with billionaire Warren Buffett's often-quoted statement that Buffett should not be paying a higher tax than his secretary.

Moylan described himself as a strong supporter of gun rights. Cartwright said he believes in the right to bear arms, too, but would consider more background checks, limits on ammunition and assault weapon restrictions.

Cartwright said he supports Obama's strategy for combating Islamic militants, who enraged the international community with recent beheadings.

He said air strikes and arming the Islamic rebels are good, but he wouldn't rule out ground troops if necessary. But, he said, the effort cannot be the United States' alone and must include Muslim nations.

"If this is a U.S. effort alone, all we're going to do is reinforce the great American Satan. And we're going to be recruiting generations of terrorists who want to injure and kill us," he said. "It's not a good model for the future."

Moylan said he would leave the strategy to generals and professional soldiers. He said the United States can't afford to lose Baghdad, and he believes Congress should have a more active role with formal war declarations.

"If we don't beat them over there, we'll have to beat them over here," he said, saying an attack on domestic soil would be imminent if the militants aren't stopped abroad.

About the only issue on which they agree, at least on the surface, is abortion. They both described themselves as "pro-life." Moylan said he is "100 percent pro-life."

Cartwright said he would make exceptions in cases of rape, incest and the health of the mother. That's the reason he voted against the bill that banned abortions after 20 weeks, earning him a 100 percent rating from NARAL-Pro Choice America and 0 percent from the National Right to Life Committee.

"It would send young women to jail for five years if they were victims of incest, if they gave birth after the age of majority," Cartwright said. "That's too far for me."

The 17th Congressional District includes the Easton and Slate Belt regions, Nazareth, Bethlehem Township and a segment of Bethlehem in Northampton County. It also includes portions of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne and Monroe counties and all of Schuylkill County.

Matt Cartwright

Party: Democrat

Age: 53

Hometown: Moosic, Lackawanna County

Elected office: Congress (2012-present)

Profession: attorney

House committee assignments: Oversight and Government Reform, Natural Resources.

Education: Bachelor of arts degree in history in 1983 from Hamilton College, juris doctorate in 1986 from University of Pennsylvania's Law School.

For more information: cartwrightcongress.com/home/

Dr. David Moylan

Party: Republican

Age: 62

Hometown: South Manheim Township, Schuylkill County

Elected office: Schuylkill County Coroner (2012-present)

Profession: radiation oncologist

Job: medical director of The Simon Kramer Cancer Institute in New Philadelphia, Schuylkill County, and the Joint Center for Therapeutic Oncology in Lehighton, Carbon County.